For our final chapter, we will take an incident in the Gospel that occurs under the very shadow of the Cross. “And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. And she broke the flask and poured it on His head.” Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of as a memorial to her.” (Mark 14:3, 6, 9).
The Lord ordained that the story of Mary anointing Him with that costly ointment should always accompany the story of the Gospel; that which Mary has done should always be coupled with what the Lord has done.
Human reasoning said this was really too much; it was giving the Lord more than His due. That is why Judas took the lead, and the other disciples supported him, in voicing a general complaint that Mary’s action was a wasteful one.
What is waste? Waste means, giving more than is necessary; when you give something too much for something too little. If someone is receiving more than he is considered to be worth, then that is waste.
But remember, we are dealing here with something which the Lord said was to go out with the Gospel, wherever that Gospel should be carried. Why? Because He intends that the preaching of the Gospel should issue something along the very lines of the action of Mary here, namely, that people should come to him and waste themselves on Him. This is the result that He is seeking. To the unbeliever, it is a total waste to give up everything to serve the Lord; but that is what the Gospel is for – to bring each one of us to a true estimate of His worth. That is always the way the world reasons. Can you not find a better employment for your life? Can you not do something better with yourself than this? It is going a bit too far to give yourself altogether to the Lord!
But if the Lord is worthy, then how can it be a waste? He is worthy to be so served. He is worthy for me to be his prisoner. He is worthy for me just to live for Him. He is worthy. What the world says about this does not matter. When once our eyes have been opened to the real worth of our Lord Jesus, nothing is too good for Him.
We do not greatly mind what the world is saying; we can stand that, but we do very much mind what other Christians are saying who ought to understand.”
“In approving Mary’s action at Bethany, the Lord Jesus was laying down one thing as a basis of all service – that you pour out all you have, your very self, unto Him; and if that should be all He allows you to do, that is enough. It is not first of all a question of whether the poor have been helped or not. That will follow, but the first question is, ‘Has the Lord been satisfied?’
The Lord is not so concerned about our ceaseless occupation in work for Him. That is not His first object. No, the Lord’s first concern is with our position at His feet and our anointing of His head. Whatever we have as an alabaster box – the most precious thing, the thing dearest in the world to us – yes, the outflow from us of a life that is produced by the very Cross itself – we give that all up to the Lord. To some, even those who should understand, it seems a waste; but that is what He seeks above all.
‘Wherever the Gospel shall be preached, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of’ (Mark 14:9). Why did the Lord say this? Because the Gospel is meant to produce this. It is what the Gospel is for. The Gospel is not just to satisfy sinners. Praise the Lord, sinners will be satisfied! But their satisfaction is, we may say, a blessed by-product of the Gospel and not its primary aim. The Gospel is preached in the first place so that the Lord may be satisfied.
Everything should be to the satisfaction of the Son of God. It is only when He is satisfied that we shall be satisfied and the sinner will be satisfied. I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself. It is impossible. Our satisfaction comes unfailingly when we satisfy Him first.
Our work for Him must spring out of our ministering to Him. The first thing for us must be the Lord Himself, not His work. It seems, at times, as though we are giving too much and getting nothing – and that is the secret of pleasing God. The Lord waits to hear us say, ‘Lord, I do not mind about that. If I can only please You, it is enough.’
We need to have our eyes opened to see the preciousness of the One whom we are serving. We must come to that place where nothing less than the dearest, the costliest, the most precious is fit for Him. We must recognize that working for the poor, working for the benefit of the world, working for the souls of men and for the eternal good of the sinner – all these are so necessary and valuable things – but are only right if they are in their place. In themselves, as things apart, they are as nothing compared with work that is done to the Lord.
The Lord has to open our eyes to His worth. The idea of waste only comes into our Christianity when we underestimate the worth of our Lord. The whole question is, ‘How precious is He to us now?’
When He is really precious to our souls, nothing will be too good, nothing too costly for Him; everything we have, our dearest, our most priceless treasure, we shall pour out upon Him, and we shall not count it a shame to have done so.
What the Lord Jesus looks for in us is a life laid at His feet, and that in view of His death and burial and of a future day. That which is merely external and superficial has no place here. It has already been dealt with by the Cross, and we have given our consent to God’s judgment upon it and learned to know in experience its cutting off. It comes now from the heart, from the very depth of our being; and we come to the Lord with that, and we break it and pour it out and say, ‘Lord, here it is. It is all yours, because You are worthy!’ – and the Lord has got what He desired. May He receive such an anointing from us today!